1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to specialized jewelry for body piercing, more specifically, to disposable body-piercing jewelry made from plastic for insertion into a body piercing opening during medical procedures that require the temporary removal of permanent metallic body-piercing jewelry, to ultimately prevent the undesired closure of the opening.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Plastic piercing devices are well known and mainly relate to ear piercings. U.S. Pat. No. 4,829,788 discloses a pierced earring incorporating a composite metallic/plastic post. Likewise, U.S. Patent Des. 255,885 discloses a plastic pierced earring.
Other uses of plastic piercing devices for pierced ears involve the cleaning and maintenance of the piercing opening. U.S. Pat. No. 3,500,829 discloses an earhole piercing and treating apparatus, including a plastic anvil that may be sterilized without danger or harm thereto. The disposable plastic earring rod of U.S. Pat. No. 4,353,370 is medicated to prevent infection of the piercing opening, and to further promote the healing thereof. Also of note, U.S. Pat. No. 4,761,971 discloses a coating of inert plastic that shields a metallic earring, to prevent skin irritation in allergic individuals.
The above inventions apply exclusively to conventional piercings of the ear. Recently, decorative body piercings have become commonplace and fashionable. Alternative decorative body piercings, such as those of the nose, nipples, navel, tongue and genitalia, involve a more traumatic physical procedure, requiring additional medical precautions in both the initial piercing and the continued maintenance of the piercing jewelry afterward. Unlike conventional ear-piercing, the art of body-piercing features jewelry having a wide array of designs and shapes commensurate with multiple piercable areas of the body and the different types of piercings therefore, as illustrated in RE/Search #12: Modern Primitives at page 25. Various piercings of the nose, navel, nipple, tongue and genitalia have enjoyed great popularity with people of both sexes and of all lifestyles. In many cases, these locations are more prone to infection than earlobes, warranting the exercise of additional medical precautions in both the initial piercing procedure and the continued maintenance of the piercing afterward.
Moreover, temporarily removing the jewelry from the piercing opening creates problems, whereby the opening can "heal up quite soon" and ultimately necessitate re-piercing of the opening to replace the original jewelry. See RE/Search #12: Modern Primitives at page 109. Furthermore, the temporary removal of permanent metallic body-piercing jewelry, required prior to certain medical procedures, often results in at least partial closure of the piercing opening, ultimately necessitating re-piercing, and the additional physical trauma, expense, and emotional hardship associated therewith.
In light of the nature of such body piercing openings, and their extreme sensitivity to even temporary removal of the permanent metallic body-piercing jewelry, there is a need for disposable body-piercing jewelry made from plastic, for insertion into a body piercing opening during medical procedures that require the temporary removal of permanent metallic body-piercing jewelry, to ultimately prevent the undesired closure of the opening.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.